UNC Softball Season Ends Friday In Eugene

EUGENE, OR – The UNC softball team’s season came to a close Friday as it fell twice in the NCAA tournament to regional host, No. 3 Oregon and No. 25 Wisconsin.

The Ducks blanked the Tar Heels in the first game of the day, thought Carolina put up five hits compared to six by Oregon. However, UNC left eight runners stranded and committed two errors to Oregon’s one.

With the win, Oregon fast tracked to Saturday’s regional finals; Carolina had to play again Friday night and this time couldn’t pull the upset on Wisconsin.

The Badgers never trailed after taking the 1-0 lead in the top of the first. In the top of the fifth, Wisconsin opened it up to a 6-1 lead with three runs for which Carolina didn’t have the answer.

With the losses, the Tar Heels finished the season 40-21. UNC will lose six seniors, including this state queen, Constance Orr. However, Carolina returns five juniors, including star pitcher Lori Spingola and four sophomores.

UNC Upsets Wisconsin In NCAA Regional Opener

EUGENE, OR. – The UNC softball team put itself in the best position possible to start the NCAA tournament with an extra-inning upset against No. 25 Wisconsin Thursday night, 3-2.

In round one, game two of the Eugene, Oregon Regional, freshman Kristen Brown hit a sacrifice fly to shortstop, scoring junior Elisha Elliot to break the 2-2 tie.

Junior Lori Spingola remained in the circle and closed out the game as freshman center-fielder Aquilla Mateen helped with the first out and Spingola struck out two to end the game.

With the win, the Tar Heels advance to the second round with an ever-important 1-0 record in the double-elimination format. Carolina plays Oregon Friday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The winner of that contest fast-tracks to Saturday’s championship round; the loser has to play again at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday in the final game of the losers’ bracket.

UNC Softball Opens NCAA Play Thursday

CHAPEL HILL – The UNC softball team is on the west coast and hoping to still be playing this Saturday as round one of the double-elimination NCAA tournament begins Thursday night.

North Carolina first plays No. 25 Wisconsin in the Eugene, Oregon Regional at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. The winner of that contest will play the winner of Oregon versus BYU; the loser is dropped to the losers bracket, which puts them at risk of dropping out of the tournament.

The Tar Heels are coming off a semifinal loss to Florida State 3-0 on Friday.

Only one team will advance from the regional to the super regional. This marks the 11th NCAA tournament appearance for Carolina. Last season UNC lost to Georgia in the championship round of the Athens Regional.

You can view the contest between North Carolina and Wisconsin by clicking here.

Carolina Receives Eugene Regional Bid

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina will face Wisconsin in Eugene, Ore., this Thursday in the first round of regional play as the Tar Heels enter NCAA Tournament play for the 11th time in 13 years.

UNC faced Wisconsin earlier in the season in a 4-2 loss at the Lousiville Classic. The No. 3 seed Ducks will also play BYU on Thursday.

“We are very excited about making to the NCAAs in Oregon,” head coach Donna J. Papa said. “The coaching staff and players are looking forward to competing. This was one of our season goals giving us the opportunity to make it to the next level. It is great for our program and our conference as well to have four teams in.”

The 2013 NCAA Division I Softball Championship begins Thursday with four-team, double-elimination play at 16 regional sites. The regional winners will advance to super regional competition for a best-of-three series May 23-26 at eight campus sites. The remaining eight teams will advance to the Women’s College World Series, a double-elimination tournament May 30-June 6 at the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

UNC (39-19) advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament this past weekend. Four ACC squads will advance to the NCAA tournament: Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Maryland Softball Takes Series Against UNC, 9-4, 9-1

COLLEGE PARK, MD – The UNC softball team dropped its first two games against Maryland Saturday in College Park, 9-4, 9-1.

Carolina led twice in game one, each time by a single run, but only for half an inning each time. Maryland had the answer as it tied the contest at one after two, and took the game over in the fifth, 6-2.

The Terrapins followed the Tar Heels’ two-run sixth inning with three of their own to take the 9-4 lead and hold on for the win.

UNC took a one-run lead again in the second contest, but in the bottom of the sixth, nine Terrapin runs shut down the contest in a run rule with two outs and one left on base.

Senior Constance Orr tallied her team-leading 15th homerun of the season in game one.

With the losses, Carolina fell to 37-18, 12-8 and in fourth place in the ACC—one game behind N.C. State with one game left in the regular season. The Wolfpack owns the tiebreaker as it took the series against the Tar Heels, 2-1 in Raleigh. Maryland improved to 29-23, 11-6 and in second in the ACC.

First pitch in game three of the series is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in College Park.

UNC Softball Comes From Behind To Take Series Against GT Monday

CHAPEL HILL – The UNC softball team had to play catch up Monday night to get the win over Georgia Tech despite an early lead and took the series with the 11-6 victory.

The Tar Heels got three quick runs on the board in the bottom of the first thanks to freshman Kristen Brown’s fourth homer run in three games followed by senior Constance Orr’s team-leading 12th homer of the season. But in the top of the third, the Yellow Jackets answered with five runs.

Heading to the bottom of the fifth, UNC trailed 5-4 but put together a five-run inning of its own. Georgia Tech added one in the sixth, but Carolina extended its lead again with two in the bottom of the inning.

Junior Lori Spingola remained in the circle for the entire contest giving up 11 hits, six earned runs, and striking out four.

The Tar Heels took the series 2-1 with the 11-6 decision and improved to 36-16 on the season, 12-6 in the ACC; Georgia Tech fell to 22-26, 7-8.

UNC hosts UNC Greensboro Wednesday at Anderson Stadium for its home finale before closing out the regular season on the road against Maryland Saturday and Sunday.

UNC Softball Travels To Raleigh For Weekend Series Against NC State

RALEIGH- The No. 25 North Carolina softball team will travel to Raleigh this weekend to face ACC opponent NC State in a three game series.

The Tar Heels stand 32-13 overall and 9-3 in conference play.

In 2012 North Carolina swept the series with NC State and is 24-46 all time.

The Wolfpack are 21-17-1 on the season and 5-6 in the ACC.

In recent play North Carolina defeated Elon Wednesday 6-0. The Tar Heels went 6-0 last week, defeating Appalachian State Tuesday, sweeping a doubleheader against James Madison Wednesday, and then beating Virginia this past weekend 3-0.

That game concluded a ten-game home stand for the Tar Heels who hit the road this weekend for a three-game conference series against N.C. State in Raleigh. Game one of double-header Saturday begins at 1:00 p.m.

UNC Softball To Host Weekend Series With UVA

CHAPEL HILL- The North Carolina softball team is set to face ACC competitor Virginiathis weekend in a home series at Anderson Stadium with a doubleheader on Saturday and a third game Sunday.

Game one of the series is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day. An ovarian cancer survivor and former Tar Heel softball team member Jamie Mayberry will throw the first pitch of the game. Short sleeve t-shirts will be sold for $25 and long sleeve for $30 with all proceeds donated to the Lineberger Cancer Center. There will also be a silent auction.

In recent play last week, North Carolina defeated Appalachian St. on Tuesday (9-2) andJames Madison in a double header Wednesday (6-0, 5-3).

The Tar Heels stand 28-13 overall and 6-3 in the ACC. North Carolina is 16-1 at home, giving up its only loss last weekend to Virginia Tech.

Virginia is 16-6, 3-6. In recent play, the Cavaliers topped George Mason twice on Tuesday (8-0, 15-3). Virginia has one four of its last five matchups and have played five top-25 teams this season.

The games will be shown live on ESPN3. On Saturday the games are set to start at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. On Sunday game time is at 1:00 p.m.

No. 25 UNC Softball Takes Two Against JMU, The Second With Walk-Off Homer

CHAPEL HILL – The No. 25 UNC softball team extended its winning streak to four Wednesday night with a pair of wins against James Madison, 6-0 and 5-3.

Junior pitcher Lori Spingola threw a shutout in game one against the Dukes and only allowed three hits while striking out seven. Junior pitcher Ashley Bone started the second game and saw her Tar Heels trailing 3-2 heading into the final frame. Spingola returned and got the win as the UNC offense followed her talented pitching with a walk-off three-run homerun by freshman shortstop Kristen Brown.

In game one, Brown was also responsible for four of Carolina’s six runs and saw her first homerun of the night. Senior designated hitter Haleigh Dickey hit her 39th career homerun in the fifth inning of game one to add to the 2-0 lead. That shot gave Dickey the career lead in homeruns at UNC.

With the pair of wins, Carolina improved to 28-13; James Madison fell to 24-9. UNC steps back into ACC play this weekend with a three-game series against UVA. Virginia took two games against George Mason on Wednesday and won last weekend’s series against Boston College 2-1.

This weekend’s series between the Tar Heels and Cavaliers begins with a double header Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill.

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